by Cheryl MacLachlan
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” You might have heard it before, but does it have to be the case? 
As I load up on my final carbs and tuck in for bed before taking on the challenge of the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France tomorrow, I can’t help but reflect. 
It takes bravery to show up to any race, let alone a World Championship. I’m humbled by the women I’ve met here—the one who podiumed at Kona last year, the one who qualified in her first race, the one who’s on her 18th IRONMAN. I’m surrounded by some of the most dedicated and accomplished athletes in the world! 
With that—not to mention some of the bikes and shoes and bodies on these women—it’s easy to slip into comparison, wondering if I really belong here. But instead, I’ve been working on using comparison as a source of inspiration, seeing those amazing women I’ll share the course with as examples of what’s possible. 
With that, I’ve had practice. I’m so grateful for the impressive female athletes in my life who I call my friends. Their success doesn’t diminish mine, and mine doesn’t diminish theirs. I’ve met some women who can’t train with others who are about the same or “better” than them and my heart breaks for them. There’s a lot of power in celebrating each other and in finding a wolfpack! 
On that note, it’s not that I’m not competitive. I want to do my best, and I love a good PR or ranking well just as much as anyone. I really believe that, if we let it, competition brings out the best in us. Isn’t that the whole point? But at the end of the day, only one person gets to win (or one per age group, I suppose). Since the vast majority of the time, we won’t get to be that person, it’s worth considering some alternative ways of relating to competition. I think this would help more of us to step up to that oh-so-intimidating start line. 
A student asked me recently, “Are you going to win?” No way, kiddo. But that’s not why I came. I came to see what I can get out of myself, and something tells me tomorrow will provide no shortage of opportunities to find out. 
@teamtrespinas @trespinas
